5 Tips for Hiring the Right Employee

Recruiting top talent is one of the most challenging aspects of running a business. Sure, finding someone who is interested in working for you may be easy, but finding the right employee for your company is easier said than done. To help facilitate the hiring process, many companies employ a number of tactics such as administering personality and competence tests and employing a variety of interviewing techniques.

Approaching an interview from several different angles is the key to finding your ideal candidate. Unfortunately this is often overlooked by busy employers. Remember, interviewing is a two-way street. Just as you are exploring how well a potential candidate will fit into your company, they are exploring whether they truly wish to work for you.

1. Organize Yourself — You need to prepare as extensively for an interview as you would expect the interviewee to prepare. If you truly want the best candidate to work for you, put aside time to create a checklist of the qualities and skills you hope to find in such an employee.

2. Speak With the Recruiting Firm — If you are using a recruiting firm to find someone, you need to ask the recruiter for a summary of why they are recommending a particular candidate. The recruiter should be able to provide you with a list of the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.

3. Use Multiple People to Interview the Candidate — Interviewers bring their own unique perspectives shaped by personal experiences; this is why we recommended the use of a variety of people to interview candidates—preferably ones who would be affected if this candidate is hired. Having others interview this person will give you several different perspectives, which are invaluable in the hiring process.

4. Don’t Give Your Answers Away to the Interviewee — One of the most common mistakes made by interviewers is giving away too much information about what they want and need in a person. Providing a company overview is fine, but do not go into too much detail about what you need in an employee. Doing so provides the interviewee with clues as to how they should tailor their responses. Instead, learn what you can about an interviewee without feeding them the answers.

5. Consider the Interview a Conversation — As an interviewer, it may be easy for you to fall into a rhythm with the questions you ask. But if you really want to get to know the candidate, you need the interview to be a mutually comfortable conversation.

Once the interview is over, you still have work to do. Make sure to check references and conduct a background check. As we all know, a person giving a reference is going to speak positively about the candidate. During that conversation, keep an ear-out for what a reference does not say or chooses to avoid answering.

Lastly, do not dominate the interview; engage your potential employee in a push-pull conversation. Remember, you are looking to add a new player to your team. Your new hire will need to play well with others and complement your operation in their own unique way. Look beyond who a person is on paper, and see who they might be as your employee.

This post is brought to you by the good folks at Dale Carnegie Training of North Dakota, providers of professional development and management development courses and information in North Dakota. We would love to connect with you on Facebook.